Our Board Members
Dr. Rosette Adera is a former refugee from Rwanda who lived, studied and worked in Kenya for fourteen years before she emigrated to Canada. She has spent close to thirty years teaching and working in higher education in Kenya, Canada and the US. Rosette has served on several boards including Women Graduates-USA and El Centro Hispanoamericano. She continues to facilitate the inclusion of refugees, new immigrants and other vulnerable populations into the workforce as well as academic environments.
Currently, she is the Chair of the Business Administration Department at Pillar College where she teaches courses in management, she is the Faculty Advisor for international graduate students and for Pillar Enactus. When she is not doing that, she is engaging in social entrepreneurship, running small startups and writing curriculum. Rosette lives with her husband Mathews and grandson EliJude in New Jersey, USA.
Doug Anderson currently serves as an Associate Pastor of Christ is the Answer Ministries in Maryland. He is also the Co-founder and Director of Global Partnerships at Garden of Hope Foundation. Doug’s background is in holistic community development, which has taken him to various parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States.
He holds a M.A. in Transformational Urban Leadership from Azusa Pacific University and a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Pillar College. He enjoys traveling, trying different kinds of food, and lots of laughter. Doug lives with his wife, daughter and son in Maryland.
Keyla Pavia is a Leadership and Financial Coach.
She holds a Master of Arts degree in Leadership and Management, a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Organizational Leadership and certifications in Financial Literacy and in SDI (Strength
Deployment Inventory) training.
In September of 2020, after leaving her 10 year career at Pillar College where she served most
recently as Chief of Staff, Mrs. Pavia and her husband, Francisco Pavia, launched Pavia
Financial Coaching, a group and individual coaching firm focused on supporting individuals and
organizations gain or strengthen money management and leadership skills.
Mrs. Pavia’s experiences include teaching for the business department, and Winning Women
program at Pillar College, and speaking and training at Christian and secular conferences. She
facilitates leadership training for multiple organizations including Family Success Centers in
New Jersey, Charis Institute in The Dominican Republic, and Covenant Business Concepts.
Mrs. Pavia volunteers as COO and trainer for MasterWorks, Inc., an international disciplemaking and leadership development organization. She serves in multiple non-profit Boards and
actively disciples youth and young-adults via mentoring programs and their local church.
Mrs. and Mr. Pavia have been married since 2011, and have a seven year old son named Evan.
Brittney Anderson is a wife and mother of two children. She strives to be a Proverbs 31 woman, and her first role is taking care of her family and supporting her husband in his ministries. She wears many hats and strongly believes in doing the most good where one is planted.
Her passions include food justice, urban agriculture, cooking, sustainably grown organic food, earth stewardship, healthy lifestyles, and minimalistic living. Brittney holds a bachelors degree in Environmental Science from Rutgers University. Her professional experience spans a variety of sectors including: environmental scientist, marketing director, nonprofit fundraising, tech company start-up, and business consulting.
Caroline is experienced in Human Resources Management and Business Partnering. She is also a Counseling Psychologist by profession. She has a demonstrated history of working in Energy, Automotive Manufacturing, FMCG, and Social Organization industries. She has played the role of a Business Partner for companies such as Kenyan Wallstreet, Lipa Later, Mobius Motors, and PayGo Energy and has mastered the art of building high-performing teams for startups. In her various roles, she oversees HR strategy, culture, and growth as well as partners with senior business leaders to grow high-performing Pan-African teams.
Caroline has obtained a bachelor’s degree in counseling psychology and sociology from Kenyatta University as well as a diploma in Human Resources Management from the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM). She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in counseling psychology.
She enjoys generating new ideas and finding solutions to everyday problems. Her view of life is that of a glass half full. She is seeking opportunities that promote the essence of humanity and inspire hope to make the world a better place.
Jocelin comes to us from Bowling Green, Ohio. She graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine. She practiced as an Athletic Trainer for a few years, and although she loved it, she found her true calling as a stay-at-home mom. Jocelin has been married to her husband, Drew, for 5 years, and they have a daughter, Ava (3), and son Noah (1). She likes to fill her time with trying new recipes, sipping coffee by the fireplace, reading, or catching up with friends.
While studying abroad in Kenya the summer of 2014 through the International Sports Federation, Jocelin met Victor. He was good friends with Jocelin’s team leader, and her heart immediately bent to Victor’s calling to start such a beautiful organization.
Jocelin is truly honored to partner with Garden of Hope Foundation.
Sofina Merinyo is a radical advocate for youth education and empowerment, a social change catalyst, a Pan-Africanist, a podcast host and a writer. She keen to ensure every African child has access to quality education and every youth has access to opportunities for advancement.
Her work and volunteer experience in the non-profit sector has accorded her vast experience and competencies in programs management, training and facilitation, project evaluations, partnership development, collaborative research, data analysis and report writing. Sofina has gained experience as
a Business Development Officer at Uthabiti Africa, a project lead at the Shima Foundation andBusiness Development and Sales Executive at Breakthrough Leadership Transformation.
Her depth, breathe and knowledge on how to engage professionally comes from her foundationaltraining in Community Resource Management from Kenyatta University, certification in Public Management in Social Transformation from Arizona State University as well as training at the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI), Kectil, Political Leadership and Governance Programme (PLGP) Friedrich Ebert Stiftung fellowships.
She has a passion for good leadership and social justice and would like to be in a position to advocate for equal rights for all children on the continent. She currently serves as a board member at Inspire Teenagers Foundation, Secretary General at the Imara Fellowship Alumni Association and is a mentor with Global Give Back Circle and Food for Education.
JOHN KUTNA
John holds an M.A in Development Studies from the Management University of Africa, and an M.A in Project Planning and Management, from the University of Nairobi.
He is a Program Management Specialist with 14 years of experience in working with local and international organizations in the provision of technical and leadership support to development programs in Kenya. Presently,
John works at Amref Health Africa as a Program Manager. He is adept in closing the policy-to-execution gaps and has led large programs in supporting county-level leadership, and is skilled in the formulation, design, and implementation of integrated programs. John has experience in providing leadership, partnership building, and design of innovative strategies to achieve project results.
He is well-versed in proposal writing processes and has directly contributed to mobilizing resources. Experienced in grant management, having worked with a wide range of donors, and has experience in managing multi-agency programs.
Dr. ESTHER NJOROGE
Dr. Esther is an award-winning leader with extensive regional and international experience in providing global leadership and vision on strategy development and execution, health programs development, innovation, management and expansion, advocacy and policy influencing, fundraising, partnership building, talent and leadership development and non-profit governance.
She has a track record of strong impact in transforming the lives of vulnerable children and strengthening health systems in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) by spearheading the development, implementation and overall management of Cleft Lip and Palate, Education and Training, Capacity Building, and Safety and Quality Programs across 70 countries.
Visionary leadership skills with experience in building and managing onsite and virtual teams in cross-cultural settings and forging partnerships with national, regional and global stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations, governments, Ministries of Health, private sector partners, NGOs/INGOs and donors to maximize program impact and sustainability. Fluent in English and Kiswahili.
She was awarded Business Daily’s Top40Under40 women in 2016 in Kenya and has previously served on the boards of Rotary Club of Nairobi-Langata, Zaza Divas International, G4 Alliance Permanent Council, Health NGOs Network (HENNET) and Advisory Group member at Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030 (CSEM).
She holds a degree in medicine (MBChB) from The University of Nairobi, an ACCA certification and a Masters in Public Health (MPH). She enjoys mentoring young men and women, community service and is passionate about children and their health. She is a wife to one and mother to three.